U Sports has undergone an explosive development in the past few years, and on Thursday they took the next step towards greatness.

U Sports has named Adam Ashton as the new Chief Operating Officer of the organization. Ashton has spent an impressive resume, which includes sports media, executive management and marketing-all of this over a 25-year career.

The role is an important one for the organization, especially given where they are at in their popularity development. U Sports had a TV broadcast deal with Roger’s Sportsnet, but  that evaporated at the end of last season. For the 2019-20 school year, U Sports is without a TV deal, meaning their most important events will not be able to reach a broader audience. 

Ashton has been brought in to change this. He knows all sides of how to create a successful sporting product. His media history makes him knowledgable about the wishes of the TV companies, his business history will make sure that U Sports is run efficiently, and his marketing will help sell collegiate sports in Canada. 

In the press release made by  U Sports, his main goal will be to build and follow through with a long term vision of growth for the conference. The easy one to pick out is TV, however, there are many other aspects which are lacking when it comes to the popularity of college sports north of the 49.

The growth of U Sports has been exponential since the rebranding from CIS, but there is still a long road to go. And that is a road that Adam Ashton hopes to lead.

TOP IMAGE: U Sports Canada